Challenge answered

Paul Heyman has said that Kurt Angle embodies the new vision of ECW. To further hammer home that point, an open challenge was laid out last week on SmackDown for anyone from a four-sided, six-sided or eight-sided ring to face the Wrestling Machine at One Night Stand. Angle, supremely confident in his abilities, could care less who is in his way because, in his mind, he’s going to simply mow him down. He had no takers to the challenge on SmackDown, and even though he was confronted by Mick Foley and Edge, it looked as though he would have no takers in his hometown of Pittsburgh at RAW either. The Wrestling Machine had just run off Edge, Foley and Lita, but then, from out of nowhere, SmackDown’s Randy Orton emerged from the crowd and laid Angle out with an RKO.

Prior to the attack, the last time Orton was in a ring, he was writhing around the mat in pain after Angle had broken his ankle after a King of the Ring Match on SmackDown. The rage has been manifesting inside of Orton ever since the Wrestling Machine took things too far on SmackDown, and the Legend Killer finally saw his chance at revenge – and Angle never saw it coming.

“Randy kind of surprised me tonight,” said Angle after RAW. “I guess he’s a little bitter that I broke his ankle in two, and I don’t blame him. But he’s going to pay for what he did to me. Nobody embarrasses Kurt Angle in his hometown, and Randy Orton will get embarrassed at ECW One Night Stand.”

Orton was happy that he finally got a measure of revenge on Angle, but on WWE.com Unlimited he said he’s not finished yet.

“It took me 60 days to come back, and I finally got my payback,” said Orton on WWE.com Unlimited. “But if Kurt thinks that was all he’s gonna get, stay tuned Kurt, because I accept your challenge for ECW One Night Stand.”

While Orton is furious at Angle for breaking his ankle, the Wrestling Machine feels no remorse. In fact, he thinks Orton had it coming.

“Randy is upset because I beat him, period. And after I beat him, I didn’t only want to just beat him. I wanted to show him that he’s not messing with some professional athlete, but he’s messing with the best,” said. Angle. “Kurt Angle is the best wrestler on the planet, and I wanted Randy to remember that for a long, long time. He’s been a real smart ass ever since he got here. He’s had a chip on his shoulder, and he needed somebody to set him straight, and I did. And you know what? I think he’s a better person because of it right now.”

Whether or not Orton’s broken ankle made him a better person remains to be seen. But one thing is for certain. The Legend Killer will be looking to get full revenge on Kurt Angle in their match at One Night Stand Sunday night on pay-per-view.

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